In one of my favorite TV shows, Dr. Gaius Baltar is called in to help with questioning a prisoner. He says, “You’ve tried the stick; it’s time to try the carrot.”

That was me two months ago.

Not just sick of detentions, tardies, phone calls, and discipline, I was sick of the time and energy I was giving to the students who earned it the least.

It took my wife to point it out. The conversation went like this:

Vaudrey: I have six students that are consistent behavior problems. If each one gets a warning, a conference outside, and a detention, that’s 18 things.
Hot Wife: Why just send them out right away?
Vaudrey: Well, that’s not fair to those kids. I have to go through my steps.
Hot Wife: Well, it’s not exactly fair to the rest of your students that their education is interrupted by distractors. Also, those rotten kids are getting all of your attention.

So I went to observe another teacher in the district who has SDC students for math support all day. These are students who ALL struggle with math, and a myriad of behavior issues come with it.

She awards her students with poker chips when they are on task.

Let’s just stop there–that’s the change that I made.

Yes, I know that Alfie Kohn wouldn’t be a big fan of a rewards-based system for discipline. Sorry, Alfie–this worked.

A roll of tickets is cheaper for me than poker chips, so I went with that. I prepped each class on how the tickets would be awarded  and jumped in.

• The bell rings, I do a round of tickets for those already on the warm-up.
• I play the Notes Song, I do a round of tickets right when it ends to students already noting.
• During classwork, I do a round of tickets to those focused.

I started noticing signs of on-task-ness that I hadn’t before: A pencil in hand is the best example.

Fast forward four weeks to today, a minimum day before winter break. Auction Day.

I printed a list of auction items, brought in a cowboy hat (don’t all auctioneers wear those?), and displayed the items attractively on the wall.

I laid down a fairness rule: One item per student.

Then we went to town. This was the highlight:

• Ryan (yes, that Ryan) proclaiming, “I’m finna git that Gatorade!” Then, after a student bid four tickets, Ryan screamed, “Thirty-nine!” Then he drank the entire 32 ounces in about 3 minutes. Pointing to his distended stomach, he boasts, “Look! I’m all pregnant!”

Improvements for the next Auction (which will probably be in six weeks):

• Use Poker Chips instead.
  • Which means: Buy individual student bags and one bin per period for those bags to be stored.
  • Assign a Banker to collect and pass out the bags at the beginning and end of class.
• Multiple auction items per student? Maybe.
• No poker chips changing hands during the auction. Savvy students who wanted two items gave their tickets to another student and said, “Get those glowsticks for me!”
• Kick out students that disrupt. I wanted so badly for this to be fun for everyone that I just spoke louder and louder. I know–I realize how silly it is. But it’s the day before winter break; they were probably going to be difficult anyway.
• Some kind of activity to keep those busy who already bought an item. (See previous bullet)

In case anyone is interested, here are the coupons I used.

Pick Your Seat Pass
Potty Passes
Coupon – Eat In Class
Coupon – Excuse a Detention
Coupon – Pick Your Group
Phone Call Pass
Homework Pass

And, because data matters, here’s the cost dispersion:

Item	Pd. 1	Pd. 3	Pd. 4
Coupon – Pick your Seat	17	3
32 oz Gatorade	23	16	39
Two (2) Homework Passes	20	2	8
Coupon – Positive Phone Call from Mr. Vaudrey	16	1
$5 Gift card to Starbucks	34	24	40
Glowsticks	10	1	64
X-presso Monster Energy Drink	36	23	5
Coupon – Eat In Class	15	13	1
Three fancy mechanical pencils	18	19	38
Coupon – Excuse a Detention	9		10
Reese’s or Skittles Candy Cane	9	20	65
Vitamin Water-flavored Lip Balm (like chapstick)	6	17	3
Coupon – Pick Your Group	1		6
Flamin’ Hot Chee-tos	25	24	70
Three Bathroom Passes	1	3
Surprise Item: Ring Pop!	16	23	7

Happy Holidays.